Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 15

The pencil scraped against the sketch paper with a faint squeak, its lines imbued with life as they formed a complete, well-composed sketch.

Xu Zhizhi’s final stroke landed on Zhou Xuci’s brows and eyes, his gentle, jade-like expression became the finishing touch of the artwork.

The little girl, now appeased, flashed Zhou Xuci a bright smile, thanked him, and happily ran off into the swirling snow.

Xu Zhizhi’s gaze remained fixed on the drawing as she slowly signed her name in the bottom right corner.

When she looked up again, Zhou Xuci was already walking toward her, holding an umbrella.

Meeting his deep eyes, Xu Zhizhi paused slightly. He wore a long black coat that reached his legs, making him appear tall and refined.

The cold wind howled, dusting Zhou Xuci’s figure with flecks of snow. Holding the black umbrella, he strode forward as if walking through an idyllic winter painting.

It suddenly struck Xu Zhizhi that Zhou Xuci had always been like this, step by step, drawing closer to her.

Closer and closer.

A crisp snap echoed as a bare lakeside branch broke under the icy wind.

Xu Zhizhi snapped out of her thoughts and offered Zhou Xuci a polite smile, speaking softly, “Hello, Senior.”

Zhou Xuci closed his umbrella and stepped into the pavilion. Glancing at the sketchboard in Xu Zhizhi’s arms, he asked courteously, “Am I disturbing you?”

“Not at all,” Xu Zhizhi replied, looking up at him. “Did you need something?”

“Yes.” Zhou Xuci retrieved a red-and-white checkered hair tie from his pocket and handed it to her. “You left this behind during dinner the other day. I happened to have a meeting here today and thought I’d return it to you.”

Xu Zhizhi took the hair tie and smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Senior.”

Every time she met Zhou Xuci, she always ended up thanking him.

“It was nothing. No need to be so polite,” Zhou Xuci said.

An invisible barrier seemed to stand between them: unseen, untouchable, yet undeniably real.

Xu Zhizhi was well-behaved, but her sensitivity to the world around her was overwhelming.

The inferiority complex she had been forced to develop felt like an enormous cage, trapping her inside. The constant wariness of living under someone else’s roof and the lack of security wrapped around her like thorny vines, binding her tightly.

She was too obedient, too cautious.

Zhou Xuci shifted slightly, shielding Xu Zhizhi from the biting wind. Noticing her reddened nose from the cold, he said quietly, “It’s freezing out. You shouldn’t stay outside too long.”

She hated the cold, despised it.

Xu Zhizhi clutched the hair tie and nodded. “Okay.”

Checking the time, she picked up her sketchboard and bid Zhou Xuci farewell. “I have a part-time job soon. I should get going.”

Zhou Xuci: “Mm.”

“Goodbye, Senior.”

“Goodbye.”

Standing in the frost-laden pavilion, Zhou Xuci watched Xu Zhizhi’s figure stride boldly through the snow, her sketchboard on her back.

He had watched her walk away like this countless times before.

Most of the time, Xu Zhizhi was running headlong toward Shen Yu without hesitation.

But this time was different.

Xu Zhizhi turned back. The wind tousled her hair, her eyes sparkling with a smile, a small dimple appearing at the corner of her lips.

“Senior,” she called out, stopping in her tracks. “Are you free this Sunday?”

Zhou Xuci was taken aback for a moment, then a smile that he couldn’t suppress spread across his eyes as he nodded and said, “Yes.”

“I’d like to invite you to dinner,” Xu Zhizhi proposed earnestly.

Before Zhou Xuci could respond, Xu Zhizhi added with some concern, “I want to thank you for all your help… Also, your scarf is still with me. I thought I could return it to you at the same time.”

Zhou Xuci replied cheerfully, “Sure.”

“Then it’s settled,” Xu Zhizhi said with a sweet smile, her eyes curving into crescents. “I’ll send you the time and place later.”

Zhou Xuci’s grin was unstoppable. “Alright, I’ll wait for your arrangements.”

“Well… see you on Sunday.”

With that, Xu Zhizhi hurried off, she was almost late for her part-time job.

After running into Shen Yu’s bizarre behavior earlier, she had nearly forgotten about her shift today.

Zhou Xuci returned to the lab in high spirits. The moment he reached the building, an anxious Fang Cheng came charging at him!

“Zhou Xuci, where the hell have you been? The group meeting is about to start!”

“The ‘Black-Faced Judge’ is already here, and our project report is a complete mess. We’re afraid he’s going to tear us apart!”

“Why are you so slow?! You’re the one he admires the most, we’re counting on you to shield us!!!”

Zhou Xuci beamed. “I took a trip to West Lake.”

“What the? it’s freezing out there! What were you doing at West Lake?” Fang Cheng asked, puzzled.

Zhou Xuci replied calmly, “I was bored.”

“…” A million questions popped up in Fang Cheng’s head as he said in disbelief, “West Lake is fifty minutes from the lab! Zhou Xuci, no offense, but you’ve been acting really weird lately!”

“Have I?” Zhou Xuci asked.

“Wait… why did you suddenly go to West Lake?!!!” Fang Cheng refused to let it go.

“Guess.”

“Don’t tell me you trekked fifty minutes just to drink the northwest wind at West Lake?” Fang Cheng blurted out bluntly.

Zhou Xuci: “…” Never underestimate the emotional intelligence of a straight man.

After the group meeting, Zhou Xuci stayed in the lab.

It was nearing the project’s deadline, and there was a mountain of materials to submit. Zhou Xuci was buried in organizing documents, so much so that he didn’t even notice his phone had frozen and shut down.

When he finally charged and turned it back on, he saw thirty-three missed calls from Lu Huaibei.

He immediately called back.

“Zhou! Xu! Ci!” Lu Huaibei roared like a lion. “If you don’t show up soon, I’m going to blow up your school!”

Zhou Xuci winced at the volume and replied leisurely, “Bro, you’re a grown man. Stay composed, maintain your aloof, domineering CEO persona.”

Lu Huaibei choked on his anger, utterly fed up. “Zhou Xuci, shut the hell up! If I weren’t composed, you’d already be dead. Don’t think being my brother will save you. If I lose it, I’ll cut you down without a second thought, no mercy!”

Zhou Xuci was baffled but remained polite. “Bro, I know you’re upset, but calm down first.”

Lu Huaibei: “…I swear I want to kill someone!”

Before Zhou Xuci could respond, he heard Secretary Su trying to soothe Lu Huaibei in the background.

Secretary Su said, “President Lu, your CEO status isn’t a free pass to become an outlaw, you know.”

President Lu: “…”

Secretary Su continued to persuade, “Last month, the CEO Fu from the neighboring company dug out his ex-wife’s kidney for his mistress. After being reported, he was thrown in jail. Please, you must abide by the law!”

Lu Huaibei couldn’t take it anymore. “Get the hell out.”

Secretary Su: “…Understood.”

Zhou Xuci stifled a laugh and asked Lu Huaibei, “Bro, what’s really going on with you?”

Lu Huaibei ranted, “You went to that blind date for me, what the hell did you do?! No wonder you suddenly had a guilty conscience and insisted on going in my place! I knew it! you’re a weasel offering New Year’s greetings to a chicken, up to no good! You just had to drag me into this mess, didn’t you? Let me tell you, dating is for idiots, only fools fall for that crap! If you don’t clean up this mess for me, I’ll pluck every last hair off your head!”

“Wait, what are you even talking about?” Zhou Xuci was baffled by the outburst.

Lu Huaibei rolled his eyes so hard they might’ve gotten stuck. Fuming, he snapped, “The girl from the blind date said she’s very satisfied with me and wants to get engaged first!”

“What? She’s very satisfied with me?” Zhou Xuci froze.

The next second, Zhou Xuci couldn’t suppress a grin, his voice rising with excitement. “Wait… no, she wants to get engaged to me, right?”

Lu Huaibei gnashed his teeth. “Shut up! Is this something to brag about? Why are you shouting?!”

Zhou Xuci chuckled. “No, but… she’s really satisfied with me?”

Honestly, this was absolutely something to brag about!

Lu Huaibei exploded. “Zhou Xuci, are you out of your damn mind?!”

…